Hunts point lifelines

Negotiated Roles and Benefits
Community Benefits Agreements can provide a range 
of roles in a project or funding for selected components 
of a larger project. Although Community Benefits Agree-
ments are often between developers and communities, 
they can also be connected to public projects.  An ex-
ample of a successful community benefits planning pro-
cess between the City and Hunts Point community is the 
plan developed by NYC DEP in connection with sewage 
digester upgrades to its waste water facility. This plan 
brought the floating swimming pool to Barretto Park, an 
asset that is greatly appreciated by the community.
CBAs can establish a broad range of conditions, includ-
ing living wage requirements and annual stipends for 
public use to recreational facilities and environmental 
building construction standards. The 2013 benefits 
agreement for the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment 
is an example given by the community of a successful 
collaboration of 27 South Bronx community groups that 
resulted in a range of provisions for living wages, 51% of 
jobs related to the development going to Bronx resi-
dents, 25% of construction contracts going to M/WBE 
Bronx businesses, and contributions to operating and 
maintenance of public facilities.  

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HUNTS POINT HUBZone
PRIVILEGES HUNTS POINT BUSINESSES
-Enables access to 3% of all federal funded contracting 
dollars
-Decreases competition pool
-Receive 10% price evaluation preference
HEETER CONSTRUCTION, WV
HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESS ZONE
Heeter Construction won the contract for Elkwater Fork 
Water Supply Dam requiring 80 employees and over 
15,000 payloads.
CASE STUDY SUMMARY
CDBG SECTION 3
PRIVILEGES BRONX RESIDENTS
HUNTS POINT PENINSULA
-Hiring preference given to low-income people and 
businesses in the community where a CDBG project (like 
Rebuild by Design) is located.
COMMUNITY BLOCK DEVELOPMENT GRANT
-Proof of residency & income
-Businesses >51% owned by residents
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

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Cooperative Development 
Worker cooperatives offer a place-oriented business 
model in the context of unstable financial markets and 
economic recession. This model is rooted in a socio-
economic arrangement whereby worker-owners control 
local, for-profit economic institutions. While their success 
and popularity in the U.S. has varied over the years, the 
Evergreen Cooperative Initiative in Cleveland, Ohio and 
the exceptional growth of Mondragon Cooperative Cor-
poration in Basque Country, Spain, illustrate the capac-
ity for such models to expand far beyond simple food 
co-ops in upscale neighborhoods. Mondragon employs 
over 80,000 people in nearly 300 separate cooperatives. 
These companies are networked across 4 primary sec-
tors: finance, industry, retail, and knowledge. In addition 
to these 4 sectors, a number of Mondragon’s coop-
eratives form a secondary support network, including 
training, financial and business consultation, and similar 
development services.
The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative is actively 
involved in advocating for a worker cooperative network 
with multiple tiers and sectors. The food cluster may be 
a promising sector, particularly with support from philan-
thropies or seed capital from investors or NGO entre-
preneurship loan programs. Such cooperatives could 
find roles in construction and in operations of Lifelines 
projects at a range of scales.

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BENEFITS AGREEMENT
CERTIFIES COMMUNITY BENEFITS
-Negotiates and manages the partnership between 
developer and community
-Covers wide range of conditions, from annual revenue to 
wage floors to jobs contracts
-Government oversight carries legal power
KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY CBA
COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT
Kingsbridge Armory CBA covered a range of jobs provisions 
and more. The DEP community benefit plan for Hunts Point 
is an example of effective consultation. 
CASE STUDY SUMMARY
WORKER COOPERATIVE
CREATES WEALTH THAT 
STRENGTHENS COMMUNITIES
MONDRAGON COOPERATIVE CORPORATION
-Institutionalizes economic democracy through for-profit 
worker cooperative model jointly owned by “worker-
owners”
-Enables more fluid networking between 
businesses, organizations, and institutions to tackle large 
and complex projects 
BRONX COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Mondragon Cooperative Corporation includes 289 
companies and employs 80,000+ worker-owners across 
industrial, retail, financial, and knowledge-based sectors.
CASE STUDY SUMMARY

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OPERATIONS
Landscape Management and 
Systems Maintenance
Long-term job security and human capital incubation 
can also come through the maintenance and operations 
design of the flood protection system, Levee Lab and 
greenway. Landscape management, systems mainte-
nance, and redevelopment for adaptation will create 
green jobs that might be managed through a greenway 
conservancy. The Bronx River Alliance could extend its 
reach to support operations of the South Bronx Green-
way through a cooperative agreement with Hunts Point 
organizations and the City.
A range of job types are involved in the Lifelines from 
green collar and grey collar sectors. Grey collar jobs 
include everything from agribusiness, fishing, and farm-
ing to high-tech technicians and skilled trades. Integrated 
flood protection is a complex system, and maintenance 
and management staff can gain work experience to 
expand their market potential. Green collar jobs include 
nurserymen, landscape management and horticultural-
ists, solar and wind energy engineers, eco-technology 
workers and technicians. Many of these are in growth 
sectors.
Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) has had great success 
with two of their green jobs programs: Bronx Environ-
mental Stewardship Academy (BEST) and SmartRoofs. 
Since 2003, BEST has prepared low-income New York 
and South Bronx residents for the green jobs market, 
offering training and education as well as career develop-
ment and externship placement services. SSBx/Smart-
Roofs, LLC is a social enterprise composed of BEST 
Academy graduates. As an LLC, SmartRoofs provides 
BEST Academy graduates with income and professional 
experience, all while helping to make NYC a greener city.
Collaborative Innovation 
The Levee Lab concept described in the Integrated Flood 
Protection chapter would create a range of high quality, 
high-learning jobs, especially for youth in Hunts Point 
and the South Bronx. Experimental technologies can be 
tested and incubated in Hunts Point, and later replicated 
in other Significant Maritime Industrial Areas with support 
from technical assistance programs that could be run 
by Sustainable South Bronx or other local organizations. 
Our team member, eDesign Dynamics and Franco Mon-
talto, the Drexel University faculty member who founded 
the ecology and hydrology practice, has been working 
with organizations in the Bronx to do this kind of work, 
and to publish the results of community-based science 
and applied technology studies. Franco Montalto’s role 
as leader of the federal standards creation process will 
create a direct link between local innovation and federal 
standards innovation, as outlined in the Levee Lab sec-
tion. Such studies provide rich work experiences and 
paid employment for young people. 

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LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT
CREATES GREEN JOBS + OWNERSHIP
SUSTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX SMARTROOFS
-Supports career development in environmental sustain-
ability, gardening + horticultural
-Potential for collaboration on maintenance contract with 
the Bronx River Alliance
MAINTENANCE AND GARDENING CONTRACTS
-EDA Economic Adjustment Grant
-EDA Public Works Grant
POTENTIAL FUNDING STREAMS
SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE
CREATES TECHNICAL JOBS
SUSTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX BEST ACADEMY
-Aids career development in technical fields
-Promotes awareness of flood protection and the local 
environment
SITE ENGINEERING & MAINTENANCE
-Green Innovation Grant Program
-Small Business Environmental Assistance Program
-EDA Economic Adjustment Grant
POTENTIAL FUNDING STREAMS

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LEVEE LAB MONITORING
CREATES GREEN JOBS FOR YOUTH
ROCKING THE BOAT, SOUTH BRONx
-Broadens future work opportunity spectrum
-Advances Hunts Point capacity for innovation in environ-
mental education and training
-Helps develop critical mass of human capital in technical 
environmental research
FLOOD PROTECTION + EXPERIMENTAL ECOLOGY
-EDA Public Works Grant
-FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants
POTENTIAL FUNDING STREAMS
ART COLLABORATIONS
EXPRESSES COMMUNITY ASSETS IN DESIGN 
VILLAGE OF MURALS / CAREY CLARK
-Public space and infrastructure can incorporate projects 
conceived by and built with the help of local working 
artists 
-Art commissions allow for a range of non-traditional 
construction processes that supports local manufacturing 
and suppliers
NATURALLY OCCURRING ARTS DISTRICT
Village of Murals project of The Point and numerous local 
artists is transforming street scapes, identity and wayfinding 
CASE STUDY SUMMARY

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PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS: 
MARKET RESILIENCE
Hunts Point Lifelines is highly focused on creating a 
better and more secure environment for business. Hunts 
Point has one of the highest concentrations of living 
wage jobs in the City of New York. It also has a thriving 
cluster of small businesses, many of them created by im-
migrant entrepreneurs. 
While speculating about the future of food distribution 
centers is outside the scope of this project, our team out-
lined a few trends and opportunities that may be relevant  
to local businesses. This exercise, captured here in a 
palette of possibilities, helps us imagine a range of future 
transformations for Hunts Point. The most significant of 
these may be driven by directions outlined in the Mari-
time Supply Chain chapter. 
The private sector job palette recognizes that food hubs 
are changing, and that economic restructuring creates 
opportunity for useful stimulus. It is possible that the best 
means of living wage job creation for South Bronx resi-
dents might focus on strategic support of infrastructure 
for private sector growth. One significant example of this 
potential is our recommendation for the feasibility study 
for creation of a Tri-Gen Power Plant that could dramati-
cally reduce carbon and refrigeration costs of food busi-
nesses. 
Market dynamics in the food sector are increasingly 
focused on food distribution within a small region, and on 
fresh produce and farm-to-table supply chains. A 2007 
on the feasibility of a New York City Wholesale Farmers 
Market illustrated the massive demand for fresh local 
produce. The USDA has several programs aimed as sup-
porting development of regional food hub programs. 
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) currently 
supports two programs applicable to expanding whole-
sale produce markets. The Farmer Market Promotion 
Program (FMPP) aims to provide funding to “expand 
domestic farmers’ markets, […] community-supported 
agricultural programs, […] and other direct producer-to-
consumer market opportunities.” This program helped 
fund the open air Wholesale Greenmarket in Hunts Point, 
and could help establish an indoor retail food market 
serving the South Bronx. 
The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program 
(MIP) provides funding to “assist in exploring new market 
opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, 
and to encourage research and innovation.” Hunts Point 
suppliers and distributors are uniquely positioned to take 
advantage of innovative markets, given their existing 
import suppliers and the proximity to Hudson River and 
Long Island farmers by way of truck, rail, and waterway.
Co-location of new facilities within the Food Distribution 
Center can have a huge impact with relatively minor new 
development. These facilities may appeal to both local 
businesses and to the community from the standpoint of 
job creation. In 2013, Farm to Table Co-Packers received 
$775,000 from New York State for facility upgrades. 
Co-Packers is a full service packaging facility that can 
freeze, jar, can, and pickle. This service helps to prolong 
the edible lifespan of fruits and vegetables, and helps 
diversify the supply chain for regional farmers and local 
grocery stores. Similarly, the Women’s Housing and 
Economic Development Corporation’s (WHEDco) Urban 
Horizon’s Kitchen offers a full-service commercial kitchen 
for start-ups and small businesses. Incorporating such 
a facility into the FDC could help expand its supply and 
distribution potential, as well as its client base and mar-
keting potential.
Besides co-location, upgrades to existing market facili-
ties such as flash freeze capacity have been discussed 
by the markets as potential resilience assets. The 
Produce Market’ plans to invest in new Cold Chain 
FDA-compliant facilities is a major investments in mod-
ernization than can be coordinated with flood protection 
design and public investments to support job growth. 
Such investments will also reduce carbon emissions, 
save energy and improve air quality. 
EXPRESSES COMMUNITY ASSETS IN DESIGN 
VILLAGE OF MURALS / CAREY CLARK
NATURALLY OCCURRING ARTS DISTRICT

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INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING
ADDS DIMENSION TO PRODUCT LINES
FARM TO TABLE CO-PACKERS
-Reduces spoiling and commodity surplus
-Diversifies market potential
-Diversifies the job base
-Diversifies supplier and consumer base
INDUSTRIAL-SCALE FOOD PROCESSING
Farm to Table Co-Packers received $775,000 from New 
York State in 2013 for facility upgrades to increase flash 
freezing and canning capacity.
CASE STUDY SUMMARY
COMMERCIAL KITCHEN
-Reduces spoiling and commodity surplus
-Diversifies market potential
-Diversifies job base
-Diversifies supplier and consumer base
WHEDco KITCHEN INCUBATOR
ADDS DIMENSION TO PRODUCT LINES
COMMERCIAL-SCALE FOOD PREPARATION
-USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program
-EDA Economic Adjustment Grant
POTENTIAL FUNDING STREAMS

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MARKET MODERNIZATION
CREATES JOBS + INCREASES FOOD SAFETY
PHILADELPHIA WHOLESALE PRODUCE MARKET
-Creates jobs by expanding market facilities
-Increases public health by reducing pollution
-Increases facility efficiency
-Helps keep Hunts Point competitive
MARKET UPGRADES TO UNBROKEN COLD CHAIN
-USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program
-EDA Economic Adjustment Grant
POTENTIAL FUNDING STREAMS
FOOD CLUSTER GROWTH
PROTECTS SMALL BUSINESS FOOD CLUSTER
HUNTS POINT FUTURE FOCUS
-Supports entrepreneurship opportunities for low- and 
middle-income Hunts Point residents
-Increases investment possibility by 
decreasing risk associated with flood zone
-Strengthens local supply chain network
RAPID FOOD CLUSTER GROWTH OUTSIDE MARKET
Next Street is currently providing workshops to help Hunts 
Point ‘food cluster’ businesses network, establishes best 
practices, and strategize for growth.
CASE STUDY SUMMARY

MARINE SUPPLY CHAIN
CLEANWAYS
Peninsula Power
CLEANWAYS
Community Resilience
CLEANWAYS
Air + Transportation
 LEVEE LAB
River Ecology
LIVELIHOODS
Facility Expansion
MARINE SUPPLY CHAIN
CLEANWAYS
Peninsula Power
CLEANWAYS
Retail Fresh Food Access
FLOOD PROTECTION
Construction
CLEANWAYS
Air + Transportation
LEVEE LAB
Experimental Monitoring
LIVELIHOODS
Facility Expansion
Operations
Emergency Relief Hub
FLOOD PROTECTION
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MARINE SUPPLY CHAIN
CLEANWAYS
Peninsula Power
CLEANWAYS
Community Resilience
CLEANWAYS
Air + Transportation
 LEVEE LAB
River Ecology
LIVELIHOODS
Facility Expansion
MARINE SUPPLY CHAIN
CLEANWAYS
Peninsula Power
CLEANWAYS
Retail Fresh Food Access
FLOOD PROTECTION
Construction
CLEANWAYS
Air + Transportation
LEVEE LAB
Experimental Monitoring
LIVELIHOODS
Facility Expansion
Operations
Emergency Relief Hub
FLOOD PROTECTION
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liFeliNes
cleanways
A true resilience strategy for Hunts Point 
must go beyond protection of the industrial 
edge to address deeper vulnerabilities. It 
should connect neighborhood, industry, and 
waterfront, and it should minimize the impacts 
of the food cluster on its residential neighbors. 
“Cleanways,” one of the four Hunts Point 
Lifeline systems, directly addresses these 
concerns through physical design, policy, and 
operations. 

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The
 
Objectives
 
of the Cleanway Lifeline are to: 
-improve air quality 
-increase access to fresh and healthy food
-improve access to open space, particularly on the 
waterfront
-provide mobility and safe passage through freight 
routes 
-offer a more efficient and resilient power supply for the 
FDC
The cleanway lifeline is made up of multiple initiatives, 
summarized on this page and described in greater detail 
in the following chapter. 
Better Truck Routes P106
An estimated 1,500 trucks pass through Hunts Point 
each day. The existing truck routes are problematic for 
both the business and residential communities of Hunts 
Point: congested and inefficient on the one hand, unsafe 
for pedestrians and cyclists on the other. Minor revisions 
to existing surface street routes can improve conditions, 
but implementation of the Oak Point ramps proposed 
by the Sheridan Expressway-Hunts Point Land Use and 
Transportation study could be truly transformative, sig-
nificantly decreasing travel time to the Hunts Point food 
cluster and improving resident health and safety. 
Safe Pedestrian and Bike Routes P106
In tandem with the proposed changes to existing truck 
routes, the Lifelines builds on the South Bronx Greenway 
Master Plan’s proposal for a street-based network 
of pedestrian and bicycle routes that connect Hunts 
Point and the rest of the South Bronx to the waterfront. 
Streetscape improvements to these routes provide 
additional ecosystem services, including stormwater 
management and air pollutant removal. 
Stormwater Management P107
Street-based green infrastructure can reduce the load on 
the existing sewer system and decrease the frequency 
of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). For a discussion 
of stormwater management in the FDC, integration with 
flood protection measures, and proposed resilience 
upgrades to the Hunts Point Wastewater Treatment 
Plant, see Integrated Flood Protection.
Air Quality P107 
Hunts Point suffers from some of the worst air quality 
in New York City, in part due to diesel emissions from 
trucks serving the food cluster. Recognizing that an 
investment in flood protection for the food cluster means 
continued industrial operations, Lifelines addresses 
air quality through three initiatives: proposed changes 
to existing truck routes (outlined above), expanded 
refrigeration and advanced truck stop electrification to 
reduce idling at the FDC, and plantings optimized for air 
pollutant removal.
Resilient Energy P110
After flood protection has been established for the Food 
Distribution Center on Hunts Point, the area will remain 
vulnerable to other resilience risks such as electrical 
grid outage. Facilities currently do not have sufficient 
backup generation to keep food refrigerated for 24 
hours, thus such an outage results in tens of millions 
of dollars of spoiled food and major economic impact 
on the region. The long-term resilience concept for 
the Food Distribution Center is to create a Micro-Grid 
for the peninsula which can operate independently in 
the event the wider grid fails.  On-site natural gas-fired 
turbines create the core element to a micro-grid which 

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will have the capacity to generate full electrical power 
requirements.  Utilizing waste heat from the generation 
turbines, steam and chilled water can be generated 
for free to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.  
The proposed energy resilience plan could reduce the 
energy cost burden for FDC tenants by 40% and lower 
carbon emissions by 50%.